2020 Review of CCH Axcess Practice Management & ProSystem fx Suite Practice Management

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From the 2020 reviews of practice management systems.

CCH Axcess Practice Management and ProSystem fx Suite’s Practice Management both from CCH Group are best suited for mid-sized or larger accounting firms that use other CCH applications.   

CCH Axcess Practice Management is available on the cloud, while ProSystem fx Practice Management is an on-premise application, with both applications offering similar features and functionality, including complete time entry, AR management, CRM capability, and solid reporting capability.

Both applications include customizable firm, employee, project and client dashboards that provide users with access to information such as WIP, an accounts receivable summary, along with client, billing, and upcoming staffing needs. A new resources dashboard has recently been added, making it easier for managers to view available staff resources when assigned new projects or tasks. In addition, the resources dashboard includes forecasting capability, allowing managers to easily spot potential staffing issues and balance workload between staff appropriately.

Both applications offer intuitive navigation, with easy access to system functions including Time & Expense Entry, Billing & Printing Invoices, Accounts Receivable, Projects, Contact Management for Clients, Administration, Print Reports, as well as a built-in report writer. The Contact Management for Clients allows firms to track current clients, as well as prospects and leads.  Managers can also analyze referral and affiliate programs as needed. 

ProSystem fx makes great use of dashboards, which provide excellent up to date information to management, and the Accounts Receivable module allows users to easily enter payments, add finance charges, make adjustments to current billings, and email statements to clients.  The product is designed to work in conjunction with other modules found in ProSystem fx Suite, and offers easy integration to CCH Axcess for Cloud capability.  

Both CCH Axcess Practice Management and ProSystem fx Practice Management offer numerous ways of recording time including unlimited built-in timers, with employees able to use multiple timers simultaneously. Users can also record time daily from their dashboard. Both applications also include a timesheet alert which is designed to remind staff that their timesheet needs to be submitted. Users can also enter time remotely The time tracking feature is able to track vacation time, CPE hours, time spent on outside projects, and standard time data such as sick, vacation, and billable and non-billable time. The time entry screens are intuitive with tabs at the bottom of the screen offering access to additional features such as MTD Hours, Bank Hours, Correct Date, and Timer On/Off functions.  Users can also track budgeted time against actuals, and can update the status of any project while also entering time.

Both CCH Axcess and ProSystem fx include a variety of billing options including a quick bill option, batch billing, and progress billing. Users can also bill groups of clients together, create multiple billing fee agreements, and automatically bill clients on a fee basis. In addition, firms can easily email invoices directly to clients, or use the CCH Axcess portal to share invoices electronically.

Both applications also include complete project management capability, with the ability to monitor all project due dates, create and maintain a separate budget for each project. In addition, project leaders are notified when a project reaches a projected milestone and alerts users when budgets are close to being exceeded. The project management feature also allows users to assign projects to staff members.

There are five customizable dashboards available in CCH Axcess and ProSystem fx, including the Firm Dashboard, which provides an overall view of firm activity, WIP, and active client due dates. The Employee Dashboard is designed to provide staff members with an overview of billable time, current time data, and productivity levels while the Client Dashboard provides users with a good overview of all current client activity. The Project Dashboard serves as a central location for access all project related data, and the new Resources Dashboard provides management with a good view of all staff activity and available resources which is extremely helpful when assigning new projects or tasks. Both applications also include a billing review option, where users can review all billing data or access complete billing history.

CCH Axcess Practice and ProSystem fx Practice Management include numerous standard reports, with users able to drill down by client, location, partner, or department. All reports can be completed customized, and users have the option to utilize the built-in report writer option to create reports from scratch. All reports can be exported to Microsoft Excel or saved as a PDF for easy emailing to clients.

Both CCH Axcess Practice and ProSystem fx Practice Manager work best when coupled with other CCH applications. Even though ProSystem fx is primarily an on-premise application, integration with Axcess applications allows users to easily view and enter data from the cloud. Both applications also offer complete integration with Microsoft Office applications; CCH Axcess offers better integration with third-party applications.   

The CCH Learning Center offers access to a variety of help options including informational videos, interactive webinars, and white papers. Even better, users have access to more than 350 self-study courses that are available from the support center. Users can also access all help and support options from within CCH Axcess Practice or ProSystem fx Practice Management. FAQs and product guides are available from the support center, and users are able to access product updates from this location as well. Both applications offer telephone and email support options through the annual maintenance agreement.

Pricing for both applications is available upon request.

2020 Rating: 4.75 Stars

Strengths:

·        Offers solid integration with other CCH applications

·         Excellent reporting

·         Intuitive data entry throughout both products

 

Potential Limitations:

·         Limited integration with third party applications

·         Both applications perform better when used with other CCH products